This invention relates to an apparatus for extracting a desired number of sheets for use as an apparatus in a counting machine or bank note counter for counting paper sheets and the like.
In conventional counting machines for counting paper sheets and the like, paper sheets, which are held in the form of a stack between a holder and a paper-pressing bar, are sucked and counted one at a time by suction heads provided on a rotary cylinder, and, when a desired number of sheets have been counted out from the paper sheet stack, these counted paper sheets are automatically separated from the remaining paper sheets by a separator so that the desired number of paper sheets, which now lie on the side of the paper-pressing bar, can be extracted from the machine. Conventionally, the extraction of a desired number of paper sheets which have been separated from the remaining paper sheets by the separator is accomplished by grasping the separated sheets by hand and depressing a reset button to release the holding action of the holder and the paper-pressing bar, thus allowing the paper sheets to be extracted from the machine. In a case where several groups of a desired number of paper sheets are to be extracted, a first group of the desired number of sheets, which has been separated from the remaining sheets, is grasped by hand, the reset button is depressed to extract the group, and the remaining paper sheets are set on the holder again. Thereafter, a second group is separated from the remaining sheets and grasped by hand, and the reset button is depressed to extract the group. These steps being repeated a number of times. Accordingly, in the prior art, the paper sheet extraction operation has been inefficient, cumbersome and time-consuming.